Posts Tagged ‘Paul Bowles’

Historic Tangier, Jewish Heritage Tour, A Guided Port Excursion

Wednesday, April 18th, 2018
Tangier Jewish Heritage Tour, Nahon Synagogue

Tangier Jewish Heritage Tour, Nahon Synagogue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tangier the capital of the Tétouan Region has a rich Jewish history due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures that conquered this area from the 5th century BC. Visiting the Jewish Heritage sites of Tangier on a private one-day tour can serve as a rewarding way to discover Tangier and the Jewish History of Morocco. Whether you are visiting Tangier while at Port for a Shore Excursion or desire a Guided Experience from your hotel, there’s much to see in this cosmopolitan Moroccan city many often refer to as the “Bride of the North.”

Tangier Jewish Cemetery

Tangier Jewish Cemetery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historic Tangier, Jewish Heritage Tour, A Guided Experience:

Tangier Arrival. Pick Up at Tangier Med Ferry Port, Airport or at your Hotel. On this On this Tangier Jewish Heritage Tour you will start your morning off visiting Tangier’s Jewish Sacred sites and then continue seeing the highlights of old Tangier. Visit the Moshe Nahon Synagogue in Tangier. Next Visit Chaar Rafael Synagogue. Chaar Rafael is one of the last surviving synagogues and remnants of Jewish Heritage in Tangier. Explore the Jewish Cemetery and the continue onwards to other non-Jewish sites.
Explore the vantage point of the Colline de Bella-Vista. Then, drive to see the Grand Socco, a popular nighttime square close to the Mosque of Sidi Bou Abib and the link between Ville Nouvelle and the medina. Visit the American Legation Museum, located in the oldest American consulate in continuous use. Next, visit the old medina, enter the medina at Rue Es-Siaghinie, the busiest part of this Roman medina lined with cafes and bazaars, a Spanish church, jewelers’ shops and an arts center displaying works depicting Tangier’s social history. Walk Petit Socco which was once the heart of the medina where businessmen and bankers frequented cafes, hotels, casinos and cabarets that have relocated to Ville Nouvelle.
Lunch Suggestions: El Morocco Club or Le Saveur du Poisson or Traditional Moroccan lunch in the city center
Explore the Caves of Hercules (Grottos) and Cap Spartel, a majestic part of Tangier and one not often seen by those passing through. In the late afternoon, take a break and experience Tangier’s cafe scene at the Cafe de Paris, a popular meeting place for Tangier residents, a former favorite of Paul Bowles and other famous foreigners.
Cafe Hafa, Tangier

Cafe Hafa, Tangier

End the tea at Cafe Hafa with a cup of steaming hot Mint Tea. Moroccan Cafe Hafa, is a white-washed restaurant with a terrace and gardens that overlook Gibraltar –perfect at sunset and a former writing spot for Paul Bowles.
Paul Bowles achieved critical and popular acclaim with the publication of his first novel The Sheltering Sky, in 1949 set in French North Africa. The Sheltering Sky was later filmed in 1990 by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film was shot in Morocco’s cities of Tangier and Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate. The Sheltering Sky tells a dangerous and erotic journey of an American artist couple, Port and Kit Mores, and their aimless travels through Africa in search of new experiences.
In 1947 Paul Bowles settled in Tangier, Morocco, and his wife, Jane Bowles followed in 1948. Paul Bowles produced numerous musical scores, four novels, more than sixty short stories, many travel pieces and dozens of translations of stories by Moroccan storytellers.
Transfer to the Port or your Hotel. Your Travel Exploration Tour ends here.

Morocco’s Imperial Cities, Seaside Resorts,Sahara Desert,Berber villages, A Taste of Morocco, Magical Kasbahs, Ruins & Waterfalls, Absolute Morocco, The Best of Marrakech, Fes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration
Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Mohammed Choukri, A Post War Moroccan Author

Wednesday, May 6th, 2015
Mohamed Choukri, Tangier

Mohamed Choukri, Tangier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Few Moroccan authors have achieved international recognition beyond the Francophone world because of the lack of translations of their works. The international acclaim of writer Mohammed Choukri and the fact that not only his works, but his remarkable life story, are known beyond the Arabic and French-speaking worlds is largely due to the support he received from globally acclaimed authors Paul Bowles and Tahar Ben Jelloun along with his own, incredible determination.

The man who was to become one of Morocco’s most well-known and controversial writers had inauspicious beginnings. He was born in 1935, in Beni Chiker (also known as Aït Chiker), a small village in Nador province, in the Rif mountains of north east Morocco, near the Algerian border. Life in such remote northern villages at this time – under the Spanish Protectorate (the French governed the area further south) – was harsh. The young Mohammed’s family was desperately poor and his father was a tyrant. Several of his siblings died of hunger, negligence or – in the case of his brother Abdelkader – murder at their father’s hands. The family moved to the cities of Tetouan and Tangier (at that time an International Zone) in search of economic security. Mohammed fled the family aged 11 to make his own life and adopted the name Choukri, a derivation of his home village.

Mohamed Choukri, For Bread Alone

Mohamed Choukri, For Bread Alone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a child, Choukri survived on his wits. Homeless and starving, he took small jobs to get by, but resorted to theft and prostitution to survive. He used drugs and alcohol and mixed with prostitutes, beggars and street dwellers, the existence of whom most wealthy Tangerois preferred not to acknowledge. His meals often came from the garbage – he found the trash of the International Zone far more nourishing than those of his Moroccan neighbors. This grim and desperate period of his life was the inspiration for three autobiographical works, the most well-known of which is his novel, For Bread Alone. The title is a reference to the lengths he had to go to just to get dry, stale bread to eat.

At the age of 20, in an exceptional demonstration of determination and foresight, Choukri took himself off to school. In the year of Moroccan independence from France and Spain, 1956, he left Tangiers for the quieter fishing town of Larache and at 21 began primary school for the first time. He eventually finished his schooling able to write in classical Arabic (which was neither his mother tongue nor the Moroccan dialect used in daily life) and became a school teacher himself.

Back in Tangiers in the swinging 60s, he continued to document his early life, often writing in cafes and bars, where he found himself brushing shoulders with European and American literati and liberals. It was a friendship and collaboration with the US writer, Paul Bowles, which facilitated the publication of For Bread Alone in 1973 in England.
Choukri’s shocking story was out there. Although it drew explicitly on the reality of his life, it was controversial and was condemned by conservative and religious commentators in Morocco. The French translation by Tahar Ben Jelloun, a Moroccan author well-known in his own right, ensured a broader audience on its publication in 1981. Although printed in Arabic in 1982, For Bread Alone was banned in Morocco until 2000. It was as if the educated – those who could actually read his work in a country with high illiteracy – could not accept the reality of poverty in their own, newly, independent country.

Choukri published several full-length works and short stories, often printed in English before Arabic. He was still writing in the late 1990s. He died from cancer in 2003 and was buried in Tangier. In a final recognition of his contribution to Moroccan and Arabic literature, his funeral was attended by the Minister of Culture, numerous government officials, personalities and the spokesman of the King of Morocco.
During his life, Mohammed Choukri claimed that he could not put a false veneer on his work, his writing was “a protest, not a parade.” He wrote in an attempt to expose and to criticize those people and the circumstances that he felt had stolen his childhood and his teenage years. US playwright Tennessee Williams described For Bread Alone as “A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact”.

Written by Lynn Sheppard 

Lynn Sheppard has lived in Essaouira, on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast for more than 2 years, supporting local non-profits, writing and becoming an expert on all things Swiri (ie. Essaouiran). She blogs at Maroc-phile.com and for other travel industry clients.

For more information about Mohammed Choukri and Tangier

Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara Desert,Berber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel.  We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Morocco Books, Recommended Reading Before You Go

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
Lords of the Atlas, By Gavin Maxwell

Lords of the Atlas, By Gavin Maxwell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Exploration Offers a Hand Curated and Select Picks of Morocco Books to read before you go. The Books to Read before you visit Morocco offer an insight into the country’s history, culture and traditions. Preparing an exciting Reading list of Morocco Books ranging from History to  Fiction and Non Fiction as well as Design & Decor is part of the the holiday planning process. To better understand Morocco’s traditions carve out time to list to Moroccan Music and watch Moroccan Films. From Galvin Maxwell’s account of the rise and fall of the House of Glaoui to Tahir Shah’s story of moving his family to  Casablanca and Paul Bowles, Spider’s House that weaves a web through the ancient medina of Fes Travel Exploration’s Reading List is a must for your Morocco adventure.

READING LIST (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

HISTORY  (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

  • Morocco That Was – By  Water Harris
  • Morocco Since 1830  –  By C.R. Pennell
  • Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua  –  By Gavin Maxwell
  • The Conquest of Morocco – By Douglass Porch

FICTION & NON- FICTION  

  • Culture & Customs in Morocco – By Raphael Njoku
  • In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams – By Tahir Shah
  • The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca – By Tahir Shah
  • The Spiders House – By Paul Bowles
  • The Sheltering Sky – By Paul Bowles (Book & Film)
  • Let It Come Down – By Paul Bowles
  • The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco –  By Richard Hamilton
  • Their Heads are Green & Their Hands are Blue – By Paul Bowles
  • Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem –  By Fatima Mernissi
  • Berber Odes: Poetry from the Mountains of Morocco – By Michael Peyron
  • The Hamadsha: A Studio of Moroccan Ethnopsychiatry
  • A House in Fes –  By Susannah Clarke
  • For Bread Alone – By Mohammed Choukri
  • The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco – Richard Hamilton
  • The Mountains Look on Marrakech – Hamish Brown
  • The Exile – By Abdullah Laroui
  • The Game of Forgetting – By Mohammed Berrada
  • Hideous Kinki – By Esther Freud
  • Leaving Tangier – By Tahar Ben Jelloun
  • The Red City – By Barnaby Rogerson & Stephen Lavington
  • Shadows of Marrakech – By Philip Brebner

 

DESIGN & DÉCOR 

  • Living in Morocco: (German Edition) – By Barbara Stoeltie
  • Moroccan Interiors  – By Lisa Lovatt-Smith
  • Living in Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakesh – By Lisl Dennis and Landt Dennis
  • New Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living – By Susan Sully
  • Moroccan Textile Embroidery – By Isabelle Denamur
  • Berber Carpets of Morocco. The Symbols. Origina and Meaning By Bruno Barbatti
  • Imazighen: The Vanishing Traditions of Berber Women – By Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Geraldine Brooks

 

MOROCCAN MUSIC  (Available on Amazon.com or I-Tunes Apple Store)

  • Andalusian Music from Fes By Abdelkrim Rais
  • Andalusian Music from Tangier By Cheik Ahmed Zaitouni
  • Jilala: Sufi Trance Music from Morocco By Jilala
  • Music of Islam 5: Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony By Music of Islam
  • Under the Moroccan Sky  – Various Artists
  • B’ismillah – Fes Festival of World Music
  • Berber Blues By Cherifa
  • The Master Musicians of Jajouka Featuring Bachir Attar
  • The Master Musicians of Jajouka – Jajouka Between the Mountains
  • Baptism of Solitude – By Paul Bowles and Bill Laswell (Spoken Word)
  • Arabic Groove – Putumayo World Music
  • Rough Guide to North African Café
  • Rough Guide to Arabic Café
  • Gift of the Gnaoua – Hassan Hakmoun & Adam Rudolph
  • Berber Music from the High Atlas & Anti-Atlas

FILMS SHOT IN MOROCCO

  • Othelle (Orson Welles)
  • Flight to Tangier  (Charles Marquis Warren)
  • The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring * James Stewart
  • Lawrence of Arabia, started Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif
  • The Jewel of the Nile, Directed by Lewis Teague, starred Michael Douglas
  • Kundun, directed by Martin Scorsese
  • Hideous Kinky (Marrakech Express)
  • Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, starred Russell Crowe
  • Rules of Engagement, directed by William Friedkin, starred Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce
  • For more information about the Morocco Books to Read or a Morocco TourMorocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara Desert,Berber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate
    Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration
    Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel.  We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

The Hotel Villa de France in Tangier, Your Morocco Tour Guide

Thursday, February 26th, 2015
Grand Villa France Hotel Circa

Grand Villa France Hotel Circa

The Moroccan port city of Tangiers (also known as Tangier, or Tanger in French) sits on the Straits of Gibraltar, staring right across the Mediterranean Sea at Spain. Sitting just east of Africa’s most north-westerly point, it has been a key point of exchange between the African and European continents for centuries.

Between 1923 and 1956 (when Morocco gained independence), Tangiers was at the center of a 144 sq mile international zone under the joint administration of France, Spain, and Britain (and later Portugal, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States). This international status and the post-war wanderlust of many European and American travelers resulted in a large and diverse expat population of writers, artists, smugglers, bon vivants and fortune-seekers living alongside Tangier’s indigenous populations of Moroccan Arabs, Berbers and Riffians from the neighboring Rif mountain range. Foreign residents included Beat Era American authors, Paul Bowles, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.

However, even before the establishment of the French Protectorate in Morocco and the Tangiers International Zone, the seafront frontier town atmosphere of Tangiers attracted its fair share of celebrity residents. One such visitor was French fauvist painter, Henri Matisse.

Hotel Villa De France Tangier

Hotel Villa De France Tangier

Matisse’s 1912 work, Window at Tangier, is a painting of the view from his window in room 35 at the Hotel Villa de France. Originally built in 1880 by Luciano Bruseaud, the Villa de France was the residence of the head of French diplomacy before becoming the main building of the hotel. It featured impressive gardens stretching to Tangiers’ Anglican church of Saint Andrew. The hotel became the favorite of an élite clique of international visitors during the period of the International Zone: French and British aristocrats, German diplomats, military officers and even clergymen are said to have stayed there for a drink or a few nights. The Villa de France only lost its pre-eminent position when Scottish businessman Lord Bute opened a larger and more sumptuous rival in 1930: the Hôtel El Minzah. The decline of Villa de France began after the end of World War II and the dissolution of the International Zone, and by the late 20th century it had long become outmoded and was in desperate need of renovation. The hotel was closed in 1992 and remained shut for more than 20 years.

Protests against the threat of demolition in favor of modern property development are said to have reached the ears of King Mohammed VI. Villa de France was finally classified as a historic monument in 2003, befitting its grand architecture and function as the urban memory of Tangier. The renovation and expansion began 3 years later to the tune of around 100 million Moroccan dirhams (US$ 10.5 million).

Grand Hotel Villa De France  Dining Room

Grand Hotel Villa De France Dining Room

The Grand Hotel Villa de France was officially re-opened in September 2014, after a soft launch over the preceding summer. Along with its erstwhile rival, El Minzah, it is now owned by Iraqi-born British businessman, Nadhmi Auchi. The aim of the renovation has been to maintain the character of the original architecture, while acknowledging Tangier’s pinnacle of the 1950s and 60s, in a modern 5* hotel setting. Room 35 has been reserved as an homage to Matisse. The renovation is sympathetic to the original charm of the 19th century design, while incorporating traditional Moroccan craftsmanship and modern amenities (such as independent apartments and a new pool).

Today, as in yesteryear, the new Grand Hotel Villa de France enjoys unfettered and impressive views of both the Tangiers medina, the Mediterranean and its own extensive gardens. Sitting on a hill above the city, it is the perfect escape from the bustle below – either for a drink on the beautiful terraces, or for a longer stay.

Written by Lynn Sheppard 

Lynn Sheppard has lived in Essaouira, on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast for more than 2 years, supporting local non-profits, writing and becoming an expert on all things Swiri (ie. Essaouiran). She blogs at Maroc-phile.com and for other travel industry clients.

For more information about the Hotel Villa De France or a Tangier Tour

Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara Desert,Berber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration
Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel.  We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

Films to Watch before Traveling to Morocco, Your Morocco Tour Guide

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

Casablanca With Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman

Two older well known films featuring Morocco are Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much which features James Stewart and Doris Day and was made in 1956. It has all the tense drama of a Hitchcock thriller and has a scene on the Jemma El Fna square where Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance looking at acrobats on the Place in a cafe as a man is stabbed nearby. The French built fortress like police station on the square features prominently in the film. It was made in the same year as Morocco gained independence and captures some of the excitement of the period.

The film Casablanca in 1942 starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid and features Claude Rains as the French police officer, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson. All the scenes were shot in a Hollywood studio but the Moroccan street scenes are not too bad and the romantic drama won 3 Academy awards. The hero Humphrey Bogart has to choose between the woman he loves played by Ingrid Bergman and helping her husband in the Czech resistance escape the pro Hitler Vichy forces in Morocco. The picture accurately portrays the war time drama and the plight of refugees in Morocco during the Second World War and was rushed out to coincide with the Allied landings during operation Torch in North Africa in 1942. It is one of the great romantic films with some of the greatest cinema actors of all time. Casablanca still basks in the glory and today’s Rick’s Bar is well worth a visit, you can watch the film as well.

Morocco, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich & Adolphe-Menjou

Josef Von Sternberg’s production of Morocco in 1930 with Marlene Dietrich and a very young Gary Cooper who is serving in the French Foreign Legion. The film opens with a legionnaire column marching into Mogador . The column stops in the souk and waits as the call to prayer rings out and the people pray, the scenes are very well observed. The shots of life as a legionnaire give an idea of what the period under the French Protectorate was like. This is the film where the young Marelene Dietrich caused a sensation by singing in the local nightclub in top hat and tails and kissing a woman who gave her a white rose after her performance. Both the heroine and hero have a troubled past and a are trying to found a new life in Morocco. It again explores the theme of Morocco as a land of eastern mystery where the characters can find themselves. In the end she follows the legionnaire column into the desert to be with her true love despite the wealth and security offered by another suitor.

The film Hideous Kinky came out in 1998 starring Kate Winslet and Said Taghamoui. In 1972 Jane’s two daughters Bea and Lucy move to Marrakech to escape the boring routines of London. The film captures the hippy period in Morocco. Both Kate Winslet ‘s character and her two daughter’s also go through a voyage of discovery aided by Said Taghamouti’s character who helps them to return to London.

Paul Bowles

The American novelist Paul Bowles narrates Bernado Bertolucci’s version of his great novel The Sheltering Sky starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich and Campbell Scott. As often happens the novelist did not like the film, the novel was perhaps too stark for a Hollywood extravaganza. There are great desert scenes and Paul Bowles appears in a cameo part as well as narrating the film. He spent 52 years living in Tangier writing and thinking about Morocco during his own personal journey of discovery. He was the best known American expatriate in Morocco of the period and introduced many writers of the period to the country.

If you search on Youtube you will find films of old Morocco in 1920,1930,and 1950’s and vivid street scenes and it is thrilling to see places as they were then and are now in modern Morocco. You can also find historic pictures of Mohammed V, Churchill and De Gaulle reviewing French troops in Marrakech during World War II as well as the historic Casablanca conference with President Roosevelt.

Morocco is a very photogenic country because of its string scenery and great films such as David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Orson Welles’s Othello shot in Essaouira, Martin Scorsese’s, Kundun and also the Temptation of Christ. Many international films continue to be made in Morocco and Morocco has its own burgeoning film industry and film stars.

For More Information on Films to Read before visiting Morocco or a Morocco Tour 

Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara Desert,Berber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration
Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel.  We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or + 1 (212) 618882681 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

New Years Desert Tour, A Moroccan Safari, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

Sunset Camel Trek, New Years Sahara Desert Tour

Journey on a New Years Desert Tour and participate in an authentic Moroccan Safari. A cross roads of civilization and a constant reminder of Berber tribalism, the  Sahara Desert remains a luminous and authentic way to discover Morocco. Merzouga’s Sahara Desert’s dusty, arid landscapes coupled with its starry blue skies offers up countless opportunities to camel trek, view regional flora and fauna, ancient fossils and nomad life while celebrating the New Year.

Take a Private New Years Desert Tour or a Moroccan Safari into the Sahara’s Erg Chebbi Dunes of Merzouga.  Options for exploration on a New Years Desert tour includes a 3-Day Desert Tour Discovery, a 4-Day Desert Tour Exploration or 5-Day Moroccan Safari. On request, private New Years Desert Tours starting and ending in Marrakech, from Marrakech to Fes and Fes to Fes are available.

Why visit the Sahara on a New Years Desert Tour?

Sahara Desert Bivouac, Merzouga

“It is a unique sensation, and it has nothing to do with loneliness, for loneliness presupposes memory. Here, in this wholly mineral landscape lighted by stars like flares, even memory disappears; nothing is left but your own breathing and the sound of your heart beating.”“Baptism of Solitude,” – Paul Bowles describes the Sahara.

New Year Desert Tour Dates – A Moroccan Safari

4 Days Marrakech New Years Desert Tour

 ▪   December 30th– 8:00am Departure from Marrakech and cross the High Atlas Mountain traveling through the Tizzin’ Tichka Pass. Stop to visit Kasbah Telouet, a local Argan Cooperative run by women. Arrive in Ouarzazate at sunset. Dinner and Overnight at a 4 Star Charming Riad with views of the Atlas Mountains.

▪  December 31st – 9:00am – Departure from your Riad to visit Skoura, the Amerdihl Kasbah. Take the valley of one thousand Kasbahs and the Skoura palmary through the Valley of Roses also known as El Kelaa Des Mgouna. Optino to have lunch in the Valley and then continue the road to Erfoud. Discover Erfoud, famous for fossils, the Sahara Desert town of Rissani. Continue the road to the Erg Chebbi Dunes. Sunset camel trek into the Sahara Desert. New Years Celebration at your bivouac camp deep in the Sahara Dunes under the midnight stars.

▪  January 1st – 9:00am – Sunrise camel trek and breakfast in the Sahara. Discover its windy roads by 4×4. Take the road back to Ouarzazate. En route to Ouarzazate, go by Alnif and have lunch of couscous in a traditional Moroccan village with a Berber family or take the road through Tinerhir past the Todra Gorge and onto Ouarzaz.ate. Dinner and Overnight at a 4 Star Charming Riad in Ouarzazate with views of the Atlas Mountains.

– January 2nd – 9:00am – Breakfast at your Riad. Visit the Oasis of Fint. Tea ceremony and fresh baked bread with Azziz. Continue the road to Ait Benhaddou Kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Go for a short hike and have Lunch with views of this ancient Kasbah. Continue the road through the Ounila Valley back to Marrakech.

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel ExplorationTravel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or 1 (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.
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Morocco Recommended Reading Music & Films, Your Morocco Travel Guide

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Moroccan Manuscript

Edith Wharton said,  “To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines.” A cold country with a hot sun, Morocco has witnessed a changing of the guards during the past thirteen years as King Mohammed VI has moved the country and its people forward. As a tourist destination Morocco once held its visitors captive with compelling stories which let them to travel North of Fes to Tangier and to Marrakesh. The Beatniks and hippies made their way to Morocco enchanted by what they read and heard about Paul Bowles, Mohammed Chokri, Allen Ginsberg and Yves Saint Laurent. The Morocco files began and this majestic and soulful country became the hidden jewel of North Africa.

The Sheltering Sky, By Paul Bowles

A trip to Morocco offers travelers everything from fine French – Moroccan cuisine to Sahara Desert camel treks, Atlas Mountain hikes, visits to Nomads that live in caves, Berber villages, magnificent gorges, the expansive Draa Valley  and hot air ballon rides over Marrakech. There’s nothing unattainable on a trip to Morocco. Every person visiting needs a Morocco recommended reading, music and film list before departing on a trip to the great Maghreb.

For those who are interested in exploring the real Morocco before they arrive Alecia Cohen, Morocco Travel Specialist, has hand picked a list of her favorites. Great reads range from Moroccan history to fiction and non-fiction along with Morocco’s best design and decor choices. A overview of Moroccan music and films shot in Morocco is also included for those who want to explore deeper.

The Caliphs House, By Tahir Shah

MOROCCO READING LIST (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

HISTORY  (Available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com)

  • Morocco That Was – By  Water Harris
  • Morocco Since 1830  –  By C.R. Pennell
  • Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua  –  By Gavin Maxwell
  • The Conquest of Morocco – By Douglass Porch

FICTION & NON- FICTION  

  • Culture & Customs in Morocco – By Raphael Njoku
  • In Morocco – By Edith Wharton
  • In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams – By Tahir Shah
  • The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca – By Tahir Shah
  • The Spiders House – By Paul Bowles
  • The Sheltering Sky – By Paul Bowles (Book & Film)
  • Let It Come Down – By Paul Bowles
  • The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco –  By Richard Hamilton
  • Their Heads are Green & Their Hands are Blue – By Paul Bowles
  • Dreams of Trespass: Tales of A Harem –  By Fatima Mernissi
  • Berber Odes: Poetry from the Mountains of Morocco – By Michael Peyron
  • The Hamadsha: A Studio of Moroccan Ethnopsychiatry
  • A House in Fes –  By Susannah Clarke
  • Marrakesh: Through Writers’ Eyes – Edited by Barnaby Rogers and Rose Baring

Living in Morocco, By Barbara Stoeltie

DESIGN & DÉCOR 

  • Living in Morocco: (German Edition) – By Barbara Stoeltie
  • Moroccan Interiors  – By Lisa Lovatt-Smith
  • Living in Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakesh – By Lisl Dennis and Landt Dennis
  • New Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living – By Susan Sully
  • Moroccan Textile Embroidery – By Isabelle Denamur
  • Berber Carpets of Morocco. The Symbols. Origina and Meaning By Bruno Barbatti
  • Imazighen: The Vanishing Traditions of Berber Women – By Margaret Courtney-Clarke and Geraldine Brooks

MOROCCAN MUSIC  (Available on Amazon.com or I-Tunes Apple Store)

  • Andalusian Music from Fes By Abdelkrim Rais
  • Andalusian Music from Tangier By Cheik Ahmed Zaitouni
  • Jilala: Sufi Trance Music from Morocco By Jilala
  • Music of Islam 5: Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony By Music of Islam
  • Under the Moroccan Sky  – Various Artists
  • B’ismillah – Fes Festival of World Music
  • Berber Blues By Cherifa
  • The Master Musicians of Jajouka Featuring Bachir Attar
  • The Master Musicians of Jajouka – Jajouka Between the Mountains
  • Baptism of Solitude – By Paul Bowles and Bill Laswell (Spoken Word)
  • Arabic Groove – Putumayo World Music
  • Rough Guide to North African Café
  • Rough Guide to Arabic Café
  • Gift of the Gnaoua – Hassan Hakmoun & Adam Rudolph
  • Berber Music from the High Atlas & Anti-Atlas

FILMS SHOT IN MOROCCO

  • Othell0 (Orson Welles)
  •  Flight to Tangier (Charles Marquis Warren)
  • The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring (James Stewart)
  • Lawrence of Arabia, starred Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif
  • The Jewel of the Nile directed by Lewis Teague, starred Michael Douglas
  • Kundun directed by Martin Scorsese
  • Hideous Kinky (Marrakech Express
  • Gladiator, directed by Ridley cott, starred Russell Crowe
  • Rules of Engagement, directed by William Friedkin, starred Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and Guy Pearce
  • Black Hawk Down, directed by Ridley Scott
  • Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott
  • The Bourne Ultimatum directed by Paul Greengrass
  • Body of Lies directed by Ridley Scott, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe
  • Of Gods and Men directed by Xavier Beavois
  • Sex and the City 2 directed by Michael Patrick King
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, directed by Mike Newell
  • Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan

For more information about Morocco Travel and Recommended Books, Music & Film

For more information about Travel and Tours to Morocco plus highlights on Moroccan culture visit Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara DesertBerber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best ofMarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel ExplorationTravel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806 or 1 (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

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Tangier Tour, Tangier Day Trip Visit To Cap Spartel and the Cave of Hercules,Your Morocco Travel Guide

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Tangier Medina

Tangier Medina

Tangier, the capital of the Tétouan Region has a rich history due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures that conquered this area from the 5th century BC. Tangier sits at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. This beautiful city, only 35 minutes from Spain by modern hydrofoil or two hours by normal ferry boat service, has a hugely multicultural society, predominantly Muslim, but with small Christian, and Jewish communities who express tolerance for one another.

Moroccan travelers who wish to visit Tangier from Spain can take a one day private excursion to Tangier’s Cap Spartel and the Cave of Hercules along with Tangier’s sites, museums and cafes. This makes for the perfect private Tangier tour whether you are coming by ferry from Spain to Tangier or from Casablanca to Tangier.

View of Cap Spartel

View of Cap Spartel

In the 1950’s, Tangier was a place –and, sometimes a refuge– for many artists and writers from America and Europe. This port city that is shaped by the sea has attracted famous writers including Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. Writers of the “Beat Generation” who visited or lived in Tangier include Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Brion Gysin, who was also a painter. Notable artists who lived and painted here were Eugene Delacroix and Henri Matisse.

Celebrities who have stayed in Tangier include The Rolling Stones, who also recorded with the Master Musicians of Jajouka and Bachir Attar in the kasbah in 1989. Tangier was a favorite home to Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, whose lavish parties at Sidi Hosni put Tangier on the map in the international press during from the 1950s through the early 1970s. Forbes magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes held his 70th birthday party in 1989 at his Palais Mendoub for 800 guests, flown in from all over the word, spending over $2.5 million in a week-end celebration.

Tangier is undergoing rapid development and modernization. Projects include new 5 star hotels along the bay, a modern business district called Tangier City Center, a new airport terminal and a new soccer stadium. Two other important investments in the region are in port of Tangier where millions of passengers and goods flow through it every year and also a new bullet train that will enable future tourists and Moroccans to travel from Tangier to Casablanca in just under 2 hours.

Cave of Hercules

Cave of Hercules

TANGIER ONE-DAY TOUR- Tangier Excursion from Spain, Tangier Day Trip

►After breakfast, your official tour of Tangier will begin. You will start your day with a city overview at the vantage point of the Colline de Bella-Vista. Then, drive to see the Grand Succo, a popular nighttime square close to the Mosque of Sidi Bou Abib and the link between Ville Nouvelle and the medina.

►Enter the medina at Rue Es-Siaghinie, the busiest part of this Roman medina lined with cafes and bazaars, a Spanish church, jewelers’ shops and an arts center displaying works depicting Tangier’s social history. Walk Petit Socco that was once the heart of the medina where businessmen and bankers frequented cafes, hotels, casinos and cabarets that have relocated to Ville Nouvelle. Move on to visit the Grand Mosque, built on the site of a Portuguese cathedral. Walking north, you will then visit the kasbah decorated with mosaics, ornamental stucco and woodcarving.

►Next to the Kasbah you will walk the ramparts and take a short break to relax by the breathtaking view of the port. Explore the Musée de Carmen-Macein exhibiting a collection of works by Picasso, Max Ernst and Georges Braque.

►Have a traditional Moroccan lunch in the city center  of Tangier then explore Quartier du Marshan, once an attractive residential area west of the Kasbah. Next, visit the Anglican church of St. Andrew built to cater to Tangier’s growing British population. After, make a stop to appreciate fine works of art at Tangier’s Musée d’ Art Contemporain showcasing contemporary Moroccan paintings.

►In the mid afternoon, take a break and experience Tangier’s cafe scene at the Cafe Hafa on the Marchan, a popular meeting place for Tangier residents, a former favorite of Paul Bowles and other famous foreigners. Cafe Hafa boasts a terrace and gardens that overlook Gibraltar –perfect at sunset and is the perfect place for afternoon tea as is Cafe de Paris. All Tangier’s cafes offer a relaxing environment where you can meet locals even over a game of backgammon.

►In the evening enjoy a traditional Moroccan meal and live entertainment at Restaurant Hammad or instead dine sea side at one of the delightful places that serve food by the sea in Tangier.

El Minzah Hotel

El Minzah Hotel

THREE DAY TANGIER TOUR FROM CASABLANCA

DAY 1: CASABLANCA – TANGIER

►After breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice, baguette and fresh fruit, departure from Casablanca to visit Tangier, a Moroccan port city with unique character. Heading north, you will enjoy views of the sea and deserted beaches that stretch to infinity. The road will be laced with ancient and interesting places to stop in such as the tropical gardens of Sidi Bouknadel, an exotic bird sanctuary in Mehdya and the European styled town of Kenitra, a port area whose land has been transformed by irrigation and is now one of Morocco’s major agricultural areas specializing in rice, sugar beet, cotton and citrus fruits. Nearby Kenitra, we can also stop in Thamusida to view the Roman baths on the banks of Wadi Sebou.

►Time permiting we will stop in Lixus, a UNESCO world heritage site, to briefly visit the Acropolis located on a hill above the town. After Lixus, we will drive directly through the seaside town of Asliah.

►For lunch we will stop in the charming coastal town of Asiliah, whose beach is one of the most quaint and beautiful in Morocco. Asiliah is frequented by Moroccans in summer and is less touristic then other seaside towns such as Essaouira and Agadir.

►After a seafood lunch, visit seaside Asiliah a blue and white washed city with commanding views of the ocean. There is also a lagoon where thousands of birds including herons, pink flamingoes, gannets, and sheldrake come to migrate during the months of December and January.

► In Tangier, you will be transported to your hotel where you can have dinner and prepare for the next day’s activities. Options for an overnight stay include the fabulous Hotel El Minzah in Tanger that overlooks the seas, Riad Tanja, located in the medina or a private villa.

DAY 2:  TANGIER

►After breakfast, your official tour of Tangier will begin. You will start your day with a city overview at the vantage point of the Colline de Bella-Vista. Then, drive to see the Grand Succo, a popular nighttime square close to the Mosque of Sidi Bou Abib and the link between Ville Nouvelle and the medina.

►Enter the medina at Rue Es-Siaghinie, the busiest part of this Roman medina lined with cafes and bazaars, a Spanish church, jewelers’ shops and an arts center displaying works depicting Tangier’s social history. Walk Petit Socco, which was once the heart of the medina where businessmen and bankers frequented cafes, hotels, casinos and cabarets that have relocated to Ville Nouvelle. Move on to visit the Grand Mosque, built on the site of a Portuguese cathedral. Walking north, you will then visit the kasbah decorated with mosaics, ornamental stucco and woodcarving.

►Next to the Kasbah you will walk the ramparts and take a short break to relax by the breathtaking view of the port. Explore the Musée de Carmen-Macein exhibiting a collection of works by Picasso, Max Ernst and Georges Braque.

►Have a traditional Moroccan lunch in the city center then explore Quartier du Marshan, once an attractive residential area west of the Kasbah. Next, visit the Anglican church of St. Andrew built to cater to Tangier’s growing British population. After, make a stop to appreciate fine works of art at the Musée d’ Art Contemporain showcasing contemporary Moroccan paintings.

►In the mid afternoon, take a break and experience Tangier’s cafe scene at the Cafe de Paris, a popular meeting place for Tangier residents, a former favorite of Paul Bowles and other famous foreigners.

►In the evening enjoy a traditional Moroccan meal and live entertainment at Restaurant Hammad or instead tea at the Moroccan Cafe Hafa, an attractive restaurant with a terrace and gardens that overlook Gibraltar –perfect at sunset with dinner by the sea. All Tangiers cafes offer a relaxing environment where you can meet locals even over a game of backgammon.

Day 3: TANGIER – CASABLANCA

►After breakfast departure from Tangier back to Casablanca.


For more information about a Tangier Tour to Cape Spartal and the Cave of Hercules

For more information about Travel and Tours to Morocco plus highlights on Moroccan culture visit Morocco’s Imperial CitiesSeaside Resorts,Sahara DesertBerber villagesA Taste of MoroccoMagical Kasbahs, Ruins & WaterfallsAbsolute Morocco, The Best of MarrakechFes, and Ouarzazate

Discover The Best of Morocco - Travel Exploration

Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Call Travel Exploration at 1 (800) 787-8806  or 1 (917)703-2078  and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.

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Paul Bowles Travel Writer Of Morocco & The Beat Generation

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Paul Bowles

Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator born in Queens, New York on December 30, 1910. Bowles was the last surviving representative of a generation of artists whose work has shaped 20th century literature and music. Among those lives that intersected with Paul Bowles  during the “beat generation” were Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin , William S. Burroughs, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Aaron Copeland and Gertrude Stein. Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City Paul Bowles displayed a talent for music and writing. Bowles attended the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris in the 1930s. During college Bowles was characterized as a unique and intelligent individual who preferred to keep to himself. In the midst of his college years, he quietly set sail for Paris where he worked briefly as a switchboard operator at the Herald Tribune but soon returned to New York, taking a job at Dutton’s Bookshop on Fifth Avenue. Paul Bowles also studied music with the composer, Aaron Copland and in New York wrote music for various theatrical productions, as well as other compositions. Bowles achieved critical and popular acclaim with the publication of his first novel The Sheltering Sky, in 1949 set in French North Africa. The Sheltering Sky was later filmed in 1990 by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film was shotin Morocco (Tangiers and Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate) as well as Algeria and Niger and features actors Deborah Winger John Malkovich and Timothy Spall. The Sheltering Sky  tells a dangerous and erotic journey of an American artist couple, Port and Kit Mores, and their aimless travels through Africa in search of new experiences.

Brion Gysin

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Travel Exploration specializes in Morocco Travel. We provide Tours and travel opportunities to Morocco for the independent traveler and tailor-made tours for families and groups with a distinctly unique flavor. From Morocco’s Seven Imperial Cities, to the Magical Sahara Travel Exploration offers a captivating experience that will inspire you. At Travel Exploration we guarantee that you will discover the best of Morocco! Google on call Travel Exploration at (917)703-2078 and let’s book a tour to Morocco for you today.